Unauthenticated superuser access via disabled Admin API authentication
Published Aug 28, 2026 · Updated Aug 28, 2026
Missing authentication in the Redpanda Admin API through 26.2.2 allows remote attackers to perform superuser operations without credentials. When admin_api_require_auth is false, request_auth.cc marks anonymous requests authenticated and superuser-authorized, while the shipped listener binds to 0.0.0.0:9644. Network reachability to port 9644 is the only gate; exposed callers can create or delete broker accounts, rewrite cluster configuration, and disrupt partition replication.
Summary
What happened
Missing authentication in the Redpanda Admin API through 26.2.2 allows remote attackers to perform superuser operations without credentials. When admin_api_require_auth is false, request_auth.cc marks anonymous requests authenticated and superuser-authorized, while the shipped listener binds to 0.0.0.0:9644. Network reachability to port 9644 is the only gate; exposed callers can create or delete broker accounts, rewrite cluster configuration, and disrupt partition replication.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-82266
- Published
- Aug 28, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 28, 2026
- Vendor
- Redpanda Data
- Product
- Redpanda
- Classifications
- CWE-306, T1098
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 28, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=26.2.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Unauthenticated Admin API request proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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